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Attack of the Rohirrim
The attack of the Rohirrim (given no specific name) was a skirmish between Éomer's banished cavalry and the band of Isengard Uruk-hai and Orcs of Mordor who had captured Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took at Amon Hen. It took place at the border of Fangorn Forest.The Lord of the Rings, ''The Two Towers'', Book Three The Rohirrim were victorious, leaving no Orcs alive. Unbeknownst to them, Merry and Pippin had escaped into the woods. History Background The Orc-host had recently attacked the Fellowship of the Ring, killing Boromir of Gondor and capturing the hobbits Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took. Among the Orc-host, there was some disagreement on what to do with the hobbits: Uglúk and Grishnákh wanted to search them, while the Moria Orcs, called "Northerners," wanted to just kill them. This disagreement slowed down their pace and allowed Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who were pursuing them, to gain on them. At the same time, scouts sent ahead by the Orcs were seen by a Rohirrim scout, who alerted the Éored of Éomer that a large band of Orcs was crossing the Eastemnet, headed for Isengard. Éomer, without official sanction from King Théoden, immediately headed for the Orcs. At this point, Uglúk and Grishnákh were disagreeing over who would take the prisoners. The Mordor orcs overtook the Northerners and were joined by around 40 Isengard Orcs led by Uglúk. The battle As the combined Isengard-Mordor force overtook the Northerners, Grishnákh saw Éomer's force riding quickly towards them. The orcs put on a new spurt of speed, however the riders had already hemmed them in, preventing them from scattering, and driving them along the banks of the river. The Rohirrim then used a tactic of shooting stragglers and moving out of range of answering bows, which they did many times before nightfall. This tactic killed many orcs, and forced the others to run faster, thus tiring them out. During the night, the Orcs stopped on a hillock, but the horsemen had surrounded them near Fangorn. Several orcs went off towards the forest, but only three returned. Uglúk put three Isengarders to guard the hobbits, who were told to kill the captives only if the Rohirrim were to break the circle. During their talk, several Rohirrim crawled over to the camp, killed several orcs, and vanished quickly. As Grishnákh tried to escape with Merry and Pippin, he was killed by a spear, which allowed Merry and Pippin to free themselves. As the Orcs realized that they had lost the hobbits, a group of Isengarders led by Mauhúr, which had come out of Fangorn, tried to break the Rohirrim's encirclement. The Rohirrim drew their circle close around the hillock to prevent a sortie, while a group rode off to attack the reinforcements. The Orcs' reinforcements were soundly defeated, and so the riders returned to their siege. At dawn, the riders charged from the East at the Orcs, who shot all the arrows they had remaining. Although several horsemen fell, the line held as they passed over the hill. They wheeled around and charged again. Most Orcs now fled helter-skelter and were killed one by one. One band however, led by Uglúk, charged towards the forest, heading straight for the riders trying to contain them. They charged up the slope, and killed three riders in their way. After watching the battle unfold, Merry and Pippin escaped into Fangorn. Uglúk, on the other hand, was overtaken by Éomer, who dismounted and fought him sword to sword. All the orcs who could still escape were run down and slaughtered by the riders. Aftermath The Riders built a mound for their 15 fallen comrades, sung their praises, and set an equal number of spears around it. They then burned the piled carcasses of the Orcs and scattered their ashes. Pippin and Merry were met by Treebeard in Fangorn. Two days later, Éomer's Éored encountered Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who he told of the battle. He gave to them two horses whose masters had fallen in the battle, Hasufel to Aragorn and Arod to Legolas. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli later traced the Hobbits' steps into Fangorn, and there met Gandalf. References pl:Bitwa pod Fangornem de:Scharmützel am Fangorn fr:Attaque des Rohirrim it:Scontro al confine della Foresta di Fangorn pt-br:Batalha de Fangorn ru:Атака рохиррим Category:Battles Category:War of the Ring